By Matthew Sanderson

There was a time when one despaired over whom super middleweight king Joe Calzaghe would face next. After a breathtaking 2003 win over the dangerous American Byron Mitchell – whom the Welshman stopped with an unanswered 50-punch volley after being dropped himself in a chaotic second round – should have taken Joe to imminent stardom, his position among the sport’s best was not consolidated.

Considering the discrepancy between Calzaghe’s talent set against such ever diminishing foes as Miguel Angel Jiminez, Tocker Pudwill, Kabary Salem and Evans Ashira, and not forgetting some disconcertingly passionless performances, once could be forgiven for being hard on the ‘Pride of Wales’ – especially if you never saw his excellent, 1997-2000 wins over the likes of former title-holders Chris Eubank, Richie Woodhall and Charles ‘Hatchet’ Brewer.

Indeed, it would be nearly three whole years before he would face another opponent considered truly world class, let alone in the top three or four in his division. Over the period between the Jiminez and the Salem fights, Jeff ‘Left Hook’ Lacy’s standing grew from unimpressive undercard fighter (the American fighting far down the show on a couple of Sports Network cards headlined by Calzaghe and Ricky Hatton) to that of a highly regarded young titlist with a decapitating ‘Left Hook’.

After a 12 round battering by Calzaghe, Lacy – who didn’t win a single round last month – has slipped a few rungs down the 168-lb ladder. Calzaghe has finally been acknowledged among the pound for pound stars of the sport, but we have to wonder why nearly three years were wasted.

With a list of potential foes that include fellow super middle champs Markus Beyer and Mikkel Kessler, middleweight standouts Winky Wright and Jermain Taylor, and not forgetting top light heavies like Antonio Tarver and Clinton Woods, that should no longer be a problem.

As I’ve said before, the bar has been raised. Expectations, more than ever, are high.

As the above men are all expected to be busy over the summer (Tarver fighting Hopkins and Wright facing Taylor), Calzaghe’s next opponent will not be of Lacy’s calibre, and one name mentioned to challenge for Joe’s WBO and IBF titles on July 8 ex Contender star Peter Manfredo, Jr, who crushed Scott Pemberton recently.

Hopefully, after July 8 is out of the way, Joe will pick up where he left off late in the year.

As an enthusiast of super middleweight boxing, my hope is that Joe faces one of the fellow 168-lb titleholders, whether it be Germany’s Beyer (WBC) or Kessler (WBA), of Denmark. Joe has beaten the best of Britain (Eubank, Robin Reid, David Starie, Woodhall) and America (Brewer, Mitchell, Lacy, Omar Sheika), and the only thing missing from his lengthy title reign is an elite European opponent.

Purists to this very day still despair the fight that never did happen between Joe and he criminally underrated Sven Ottke, who himself held two world titles and managed a division record of 20 defenses. Notorious for a couple of lucky wins late in his career, Ottke might have been boring to watch, but ‘The Phantom’ was a clever, precise technician who never really got his due outside of Germany.

Indeed, Kessler, a left jab artist who is said to struggle with southpaws in sparring, and Beyer, an extremely tidy, well schooled left-hander who can be vulnerable, are tough but very winnable fights for Calzaghe, who at nearly 34 has maturity and experience to temper his fast hands and incredible energy levels.

Clinton Woods, whose promoter Dennis Hobson has tried to goad Joe’s handler Frank Warren into making a big all British fight, by offering a side bet as to the winner, would be a fight to look forward to. Following dominant wins over Rico Hoye and Julio Gonzalez, the late blooming Woods, holder of the IBF light heavyweight title, is an opponent of more substance than the overhyped Lacy. That would be a huge fight not only for the British fans – many of whom fell asleep by the time Joe was spanking Lacy  – but for Calzaghe himself, who longs to be a two-division world champion.

However, such a pairing would seem to be under some doubt. Woods must face Glen Johnson after a voluntary, May 13 defense against Australia’s Jason Delisle. With number one light heavy Antonio Tarver facing fellow oldie Bernard Hopkins in what could well be a cash-in retirement fight, one hopes that Joe is persuaded to stay in the division that belongs to him. If so, and pending the result of a high profile June 17 fight, a fighter who would further prove Joe’s worth to American audiences could be in the picture.

Winky Wright, perhaps the very finest pound for pound fighter in the sport after clear wins over Shane Mosley (twice) and Felix Trinidad, has vowed to get revenge for the beating of his friend and stablemate Lacy. The mouth-watering all-southpaw match would hinge on whether Winky gets by Jermain Taylor, in their matchup for the WBO and WBC middleweight belts. The light hitting southpaw, a former undisputed junior middle champ, absurdly, can be as difficult to negotiate with as he is to look good against.

But such a matchup would, crucially, mean a lot to both sides of the pond. Just as Calzaghe has impressed America by beating Lacy, Winky Wright defended his WBO 154-pound title three times on British soil – including a stoppage of the highly touted Adrian Dodson. Just as Calzaghe would probably want to keep what he has (the WBO and IBF super middle belts, the former of which he has defended 18 times), could Winky – provided he gets by Taylor – resist being a three-weight world champion?

Boxing Notes

Floyd Mayweather is an extraordinary fighter, but I hope people will be somewhat sobered as to his standing as the very best fighter in the sport, following his win over Zab Judah. Mayweather, who – it can be argued – lost the first four rounds AND was dropped before, to his credit, completely figuring his man out, didn’t exactly beat Judah as impressively as the formerly great junior welter champ Kostya Tszyu, did he?

Tszyu, it is worth recalling, found the measure of Zab after only one difficult round, before dropping him twice with one punch, which caused the stoppage in that 140-lb unifier, in 2001. Come to think of it, Tszyu demolished Sharmba Mitchell, too, in their 2004 rematch, the leftovers of whom Mayweather took his damn time against last year.

Glen Johnson ought not to say that Clinton Woods is ducking him. Woods, who has drawn with and lost to ‘The Road Warrior’ in a couple of 2003 and 2004 fights, may well have the beating of Johnson now after a shocking improvement in form last year. Furthermore, didn’t Johnson give up the IBF belt that Woods now holds, a while back? It’s been well known in the business that Woods would be taking a voluntary (previous names mentioned being Huge Hernan Garay of Argentina and the Italian Pietro Aurino, former European cruiserweight king).

Is Johnson so badly informed that he and his people can only object after the fight is announced on a boxing website? My feeling is the only reason Glen went for Woods again was because old foe Antonio Tarver, who beat him pretty convincingly last time out, snubbed him.